Przybek-Skrzypecka Joanna, Szewczuk Alina, Kamińska Anna, Skrzypecki Janusz, Pyziak-Skupień Aleksandra, Szaflik Jacek Paweł
Department of Ophthalmology, The Medical University of Warsaw, 61 Żwirki i Wigury Street, 02-091 Warsaw, Poland.
SPKSO Ophthalmic University Hospital, 24/26 Marszałkowska Street, 00-576 Warsaw, Poland.
Healthcare (Basel). 2022 Jul 29;10(8):1422. doi: 10.3390/healthcare10081422.
Background: The COVID-19 pandemic led to the reorganization of the health care system. A decline in health- and life-saving procedures has been reported in various medical specialties. However, data on ophthalmic emergencies during lockdowns is limited. Methods: We conducted a retrospective, observational, case-control study of 2351 patients registered at the ophthalmic emergency department of a tertiary hospital in Poland during three national COVID-19 lockdowns (March/April 2020, November 2020, and March/April 2021) and corresponding months in 2019. Results: The total number of visits declined from a mean of 720/month in the non-COVID era to 304/month during COVID-19 lockdowns (p < 0.001). Ocular trauma incidence dropped significantly from 2019 (non-COVID months) to 2020/2021 (COVID group mean 201 vs. 97 patients monthly, respectively, p = 0.03). Of note, the percentage of foreign bodies removal was significantly higher during lockdowns than corresponding time in the non-COVID era. A downward trend for vitreous detachment and macular disorders cases was observed between COVID and non-COVID time. Uveitis and optic neuritis patients were seen more often during lockdowns (p < 0.001 and p = 0.0013, respectively). In contrast, the frequency of conjunctivitis and keratitis, potentially COVID-related problems, decreased significantly in COVID-19 time (mean 138 vs. 23 per month in non-COVID vs. COVID lockdowns, respectively, p < 0.001). Conclusions: The overall number of eye emergency visits declined during COVID-19 lockdowns. Conjunctivitis and keratitis rates dropped during the lockdowns. Interestingly, the frequency of immune-mediated ocular conditions (uveitis, optic neuritis) increased significantly which might be triggered by SARS-CoV2 infection.
新冠疫情导致了医疗保健系统的重组。据报道，各个医学专科中挽救健康和生命的程序有所减少。然而，关于封锁期间眼科急诊的数据有限。方法：我们对波兰一家三级医院眼科急诊科在三次全国性新冠疫情封锁期间（2020年3月/4月、2020年11月以及2021年3月/4月）登记的2351例患者以及2019年相应月份的患者进行了一项回顾性、观察性病例对照研究。结果：就诊总数从新冠疫情前的平均每月720次降至新冠疫情封锁期间的每月304次（p < 0.001）。眼外伤发生率从2019年（非新冠月份）到2020/2021年（新冠组分别为平均每月201例和97例患者）显著下降（p = 0.03）。值得注意的是，封锁期间取出异物的比例显著高于非新冠疫情时期的相应时间段。在新冠疫情和非新冠疫情时期之间，观察到玻璃体脱离和黄斑疾病病例呈下降趋势。葡萄膜炎和视神经炎患者在封锁期间就诊更为频繁（分别为p < 0.001和p = 0.0013）。相比之下，结膜炎和角膜炎这两种可能与新冠相关的疾病的发生率在新冠疫情期间显著下降（非新冠封锁期间平均每月138例，新冠封锁期间平均每月23例，p < 0.001）。结论：新冠疫情封锁期间眼科急诊就诊的总数下降。封锁期间结膜炎和角膜炎的发生率下降。有趣的是，免疫介导的眼部疾病（葡萄膜炎、视神经炎）的发生率显著增加，这可能是由SARS-CoV2感染引发的。
